Product Description

St. Bride’s College, Cambridge, England, 1905. When Jonty Stewart takes up a teaching post at the college where he studied, the handsome and outgoing young man acts as a catalyst for change within the archaic institution. He also has a catalytic effect on Orlando Coppersmith. Orlando is a brilliant, introverted mathematician with very little experience of life outside the college walls. He strikes up an alliance with the outgoing Jonty, and soon finds himself having feelings he’s never experienced before. Before long their friendship blossoms into more than either man had hoped and they enter into a clandestine relationship. Their romance is complicated when a series of murders is discovered within St. Bride’s. All of the victims have one thing in common, a penchant for men. While acting as the eyes and ears for the police, a mixture of logic and luck leads them to a confrontation with the murderer—can they survive it?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #717067 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-21
• Released on: 2008-11-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 184 pages

Customer Reviews

murder mystery and sweet romance all in one lovely book
This novel is a rare treasure in the gay romance genre, in that it has a plot you can sink your teeth into and a romance of the good, old-fashioned kind, where there is a lovely progression from first meeting to friendship to more. The tantalizing build-up toward intimacy allows the characters as well as the reader enough time to fall in love. To root for a romance to succeed, you have to know whom you're rooting for. Lessons in Love gives us Jonathan Stewart who goes by the apt nickname of Jonty (which made me think "jaunty" and since he has an energetic, fun-loving demeanor, it so suits him) and Orlando Coppersmith, much more sober and reserved but endearing in his utter lack of experience with anything outside his well-ordered little world and his beloved mathematics. The way they go from boisterous, sometimes prickly friendship to cuddly twosome will just melt you into a puddle.

I may be a little biased because this novel has one of my favorite types of pairings. I love the opposites attract theme, and Jonty and Orlando couldn't be at further ends of the spectrum. This produces just the sort of sparks that you hope for on the path from first meeting to first kiss. The author takes a little time to let us see who these men are before they become more than friends. It's fun to follow their struggle to understand each other and to make sense of the building attraction between them. They tease and torment and vex each other, as guys will do. I liked the equality in their relationship. That seems another rare element in m/m romance. In Lessons in Love, I got no sense of one personality dominating the other. Their give-and-take, mentally, emotionally and physically, grew out of their respective personalities in the most believable way. I had a special fondness for their first time together--it was a wonderful scramble, amusing, charming, so real, and erotic in a way that most m/m romance I read _isn't_. You know how some erotic m/m comes across so mechanical and repetitive and eye-rollingly acrobatic? Not in this book. The intimacy comes through as true to character, meaningful, imperfect but passionate, clumsy and uncertain at times, and always sweet. In other words, it's like intimacy in real life. And that makes it sexier and more memorable than ninety-nine percent of what I've read in the genre. A lot of m/m writers could benefit from reading this book. Jonty and Orlando are accessible characters, so well fleshed out that reading about them is more like watching a movie in your head.

If all that loveliness weren't enough, Lessons in Love provides a wonderfully well paced murder mystery for Jonty and Orlando to solve. The author sets it up by dropping just the right number of clues so that you might have your own revelation just moments before our heroes do. The mystery ties in nicely with developments in Jonty and Orlando's relationship and adds another level of interest to the novel as a whole. Despite the old-fashioned quality of the romance, the author doesn't shy away from the grim realities of the period. It lends an edge to an otherwise gentle story and heightens the tension level as Jonty, Orlando, and everyone at the school cope with having a murderer running loose. The story threads twine together beautifully and the novel is an involving read as a result.

I would've liked more interaction between Jonty and Orlando early on, between their first meeting and their first moments of intimacy. That's always a fun period of time between characters, so my personal preference is always for more of it. But the lack of it did not take away anything from this book. It's terribly romantic, with a delicious courtship. The little teases and in-jokes that the characters come to share are so sweet. I would dearly love to see more m/m romances along this line and I'm looking forward to seeing much more from this author. Hugely recommended if you're a sucker for real romance--and if you're not, this book will turn you into one.

Lessons in Love
Jonathan `Jonty' Stewart is a breath a fresh air to the serene faculty of St. Bride's College in Cambridge England. His outgoing attitude is the total opposite of his colleague Orlando Coppersmith, who is such an introvert, that he barely ventures outside of the walls of the school. Jonty's and Orlando's friendship was a surprise to the both of them and soon the relationship turned to romance, a romance that was very taboo in 1905 England.

Their new romance was further complicated by a rash of murders of students on campus. The victims were young men who had homosexual relations. Not knowing who is responsible for the murders, will Jonty's and Orlando's relationship be their death sentence?

Lessons in Love is a really good romance with the bonus of a well-written mystery. The romance between Jonty and Orlando reminded me of a classic favorite Maurice, written by E.M. Forster. Jonty, aptly named for his jaunty outgoing attitude and happy disposition, was what Orlando needed to end his self-imposed loneliness. The passionate connection between them was strong and I couldn't wait for them to have uninterrupted time together. These two make a sexy mystery solving dual and I'm excited that there is more to come from them. Lessons in Love is a fantastic story and lovers of classic English literature and mysteries will find plenty to love about this book and the series.

Ley
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This one is pure delight. What a lovely surprise!
This one really transcends my expectation. I thought I have more or less round up the year with my Top M/M romance but this delightful love story set in the early 1900s when gay love is forbidden, has made its way to my top few. The plot is tightly paced with a well thought out murder crime/mystery for our guys to solve. I never guessed the murderer and when it was revealed, it was shocking and sad, but the whole mystery does tie up nicely.

However what I love about this book are the 2 extremely well developed and likable characters, Dr. Jonathan Stewart (Jonty) and Dr. Orlando Copperfield and their evolving romance. They are complete opposites yet could not be more right for each other. Jonty is rich, an extrovert, with a smile that lit up a room while Orlando is an introvert, a mathematician geek living in his little enclosed university world. This is the type of pairing I have a weakness for :). The writer has done a wonderful job developing their characters and romance. And I like the gradual revelation about their pasts as the story progresses, including each man's ghosts, which enrich the characters even more. There are numerous sweet and tender moments in their developing love story which gets me all warm and fuzzy, including their terms of endearment for each other. As for the sex it is not the usual explict M/M erotism but Jonty's gentle teaching and coaxing of the inexperienced Orlando into sex is romantic and tender and no less sensual.

So glad there is more on these 2 endearing characters with "Lessons in Desire" due in Feb '09. If you love M/M romance mystery with the romance and characters taking precedence, do not miss this. Bravo Charlie Cochrane!